PARK SLOPE COURIER

“TWO BOOTS: THE DOWNTOWN GEM YOU CAN KICK UP YOUR HEELS FOR”

BY KENNETH BROWN

Fun food, fabulous food, a marvelously whimsical and laid back setting, exceedingly family friendly, great live music, terrific pizzas (that the kids can watch being made), deceptively sophisticated cuisine, crayons and first rate coloring books for the kids, romantic table in the expansive garden for romance, a terrific staff…to much to be true? Think again. This is the world of Two Boots.

For those who have loved this place since it opened in 1988, these descriptions come as redundancies to their own experiences. To those who have yet to discover this Park Slope gem, what the heck are you waiting for?

There is everything to love about this place, whether your two, 22 or 72. In fact, I can’t find any negatives except maybe you eat way too much since you just can’t resist what’s on the menu.

The restaurant, named for the characteristic geographical shape from whence come its two main cuisines – Italy and Louisiana - is a bastion of fun and really serious eating. It’s as much “cute” counterculture as it is ersatz stroller showroom due to the preponderence of little ones who adore the place as much as their parents do.

The Happy Hour at the bar, however, is just as busy as the coloring going on at the table. If you try to pigeonhole Two Boots, you’ll come up short, because as much as anything can be everything to everyone, this is the place.

The interior dining rooms are marked by their original tin ceilings, huge skylight, lucheonette style banquettebooths, open weathered brick and a gallery of art and New Orleans inspired photos.

Summer is a grand time to visit Two Boots, as the really spacious outside door dining room is positively addictive. You’ll love the setting, parents will love the wide berth between tables for easy manuererability of stolers (even double and triple width types).

A third of the al fresco space has a roof from which hangs strands and strands of bright lights. Two-thirds of the space is wide open and wonderful, filled with small trees and plants; ivy climbs the adjacent walls; there are Day-Glo painted murals that romp from classical Roman statues to pizza pies…everything done in vibrant yellows, blues and cranberries.

The (huge) tables have bottles of green and red Louisana hot sauce. But don’t be misled by any one thing you see because, you’re trying to pigeonhole, and it just won’t happen. This night the menu specials included Curried sweet potato soup: thick, rich, a wonderful mix of scents and tastes, and remarkably light.

Incidentally, this place smells wonderful. You could sit for hours and just soak up the atmosphere and scents and eat, eat, eat.

The House Salad is blessed with a delicious thick herbal balsamic vinaigrette. Extra thick vegetarian chili is offered topped with cilantro sour cream and made of white and black beans.

Their selection of thin crust pizzas are thoroughly addictive. There are maybe two dozen from which to choose and come small ( for a hungry one person main dish or two hungry people appetizer portions), medium and large. The toppings are as creative as the rest of the place: from Cajun andouille sausage to jalapenos, great red onion to fresh cut clove garlic, sopressato to crawfish (yes crawfish) and goat cheese to sundied tomates. You can’t make a mistake, though. The toppings are plentiful, the molten fresh mozzarella delectable and the crusts as light as they are airy and tasty. For kids, there is even a smiley face pizza pie.

Incidentally, the pizzas are an event for the kids. Located inside the place, management has set up a large and comfy kid-sized area where the munchkins can sit and watch their meals being made and chat and annoy the poor pizza maker as much as they life. The kids love it.

Back at the table, for starters sink your teeth into the sweet grilled corn on the cob (with parts of husk still attached). Alternative appetizers include the Baby Back BBQ ribs, the Chilled Gazpacho with Cajun croutons, the Louisiana Crawish Pie, BBQ Shrimp N’awlins Style (simmered in their shells with olive oil, garlic, herbs and spices, served with Italian bread “so you won’t miss a drop of that savory sauce”) and Hoppin’ Joh, a regional creation of black-eyed peas, red beans, melted cheeses, scallions, tomatoes and rice.

Come extra hungry so you can also savor one of their po’boy sandwiches, the traditional New Orleans concoction served on Italian bread. The Zydeco Vegetarian, for instance, piles layers of balsamic marinated artichokes and mushrooms with slices of extra fresh zucchini, sweet roasted red peppers and melted provolone with a red pepper mayo. It’s scrumptious! There’s a Cornmeal-Fried Oyster o’boy, a Catfish variety with tomato, red onion and Cajun tartar sauce and The Big Easy Smoked Mozzarella in a pecan breading with fried red onions and a basil pesto.

You’ll find it equally difficult to resist (and why try) the salads, particularly the Delta Queen Seafood Salad, with shrimp, scallops, crawfish and calamari marinated with lime juice, with onions, peppers and Cajun herbs n’ spices served on a bed of delicious green with a fresh cut and sliced avocado on the side. It’s portion size, by the way, is truly ponderous.

As for the main event, this is even better that what has come before. Every night brings a long list of specials. On this occasion, the chef featured blackened Farm Raised Catfish served with Creole fries and a mound of tender collard greens. The Penne Perfecto mixed sweet Italian sausage and roasted peppers with the pasta in a light tomato sauce, all enhanced with smoked mozzarella and provolone. There was also Brother Dave’s BBQ Grilled Chicken breast and a farfalle Greco style with cherry tomatoes, arugola, black olives, and feta cheese.
From the main bill of fare comes such temptations as the Pan-Fried Lemon Parsley Catfish; Grilled Steak Louisianna (a dry aged New York shell marinated in Creole sauce), Dixie Chicken (cilantro-lime grilled served with avocado and black bean citrus salad), Shrimp Traviata (angel hair pasta with sundried tomatoes), Voodoo Southern Fried Chicken spotlighted with the traditional mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, plus a really jammin’ jambalaya, a big platter of chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage, all simmered in a Creole tomato sauce served over rice.


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